German Red Prince

Page 73

Having acquired so many talented individuals, Thorne finally had a moment to relax and decided to go to a pub for a drink. In this timeline of America, Prohibition had been in effect for a period of time, but for various reasons, it did not last long.

People in the midst of an economic crisis needed alcohol, so in 1924 President Coolidge repealed Prohibition, a decision hailed by the American people as "the only right decision Coolidge ever made."

America's sluggish economy needed alcohol, and bars of all sizes were scattered throughout the country. Thorne saw many people in the bars, some dressed well, some dressed in rags, and few of the people who came in to drink had a good expression; almost all of them had a sullen face.

These scenes also gave Thorne some insights. The sluggish economy caused unemployment, and once the number of unemployed people increased, it would inevitably lead to social unrest. Extreme groups often formed during this period, which explains why there were so many armed militias in Detroit. Thorne dared not go out at night in the United States, for who knows if he would be shot by someone.

While crime is certainly caused by human factors, alcohol can also be considered a catalyst, especially during times of social unrest. This is why Thorne established the workers' club in Darmstadt.

It's better to be out and about than to spend all your time in bars. If a social crisis were to occur in Germany in the future, he would have to find a way to control these unstable elements.

The tavern was filled with people looking gloomy. While waiting, Thorne spotted a familiar face. If he recognized it, it was definitely not a nobody; this person was probably someone important.

"What's wrong, friend?"

Thorne took the initiative to get close to the man, hoping to get some useful information out of him.

The man glanced at Thorne, sighed, and only spoke slowly when Thorne handed him the wine.

"Hey friend, it's rare to find someone to talk to."

He took a sip of his drink and started talking.

“My name is Goddard, you know? I’m like an idiot, always dreaming that one day something will be able to carry people out of the earth. I just scraped together $30,000 a while ago, but the research still failed, and the lab burned down. All the money I managed to raise was gone without me even doing anything. There’s no point in continuing anymore. I still have to figure out how to pay back the money I borrowed.”

Upon hearing his self-introduction, Thorne knew why he felt a sense of familiarity. Goddard, wasn't he the inventor of the American liquid rocket? He was incredibly famous, but judging from his current situation, his life didn't seem to be going well; he even had to borrow money to conduct research.

You can't blame him for that. Rocket research is a national-level engineering project, and it's really difficult for him to do it all by himself. He even had to borrow money to develop rockets, which is just too tragic.

Public opinion doesn't support it. We haven't even built an airplane that can cross the ocean yet, so how could we possibly build a rocket that can fly out of Earth? This does seem like a crazy fantasy.

Goddard is now struggling with research and funding, so Thorne isn't going to be polite. Since the US doesn't value him, he'll just poach his talent.

“I think you’re right.” Thorne took a sip of his drink. “Earth is the cradle of humanity, but humanity can’t live in the cradle forever. I support your view, and I also believe that one day humanity can break free from Earth.”

Goddard was surprised to hear Thorne's words. He had never seen anyone say such a thing with such a serious expression. No one believed that humans could break out of Earth; it was a completely unrealistic fantasy.

“And let me tell you,” Thorne looked at Goddard, “I assure you, it won’t take hundreds or thousands of years. In less than forty years, humanity will be able to break free from Earth and even land on the moon.”

"Forty years!"

At this point, Goddard found it unbelievable. Was this guy out of his mind? A moon landing in forty years? Was he kidding? Was he deliberately trying to make fun of him?

"Sir, I'm not joking. Humans can fly out of Earth within forty years, and they definitely will."

Thorne's argument was not without basis. The Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union in that timeline spurred countless technological advancements, with the achievements of just a few decades equaling the sum of the previous hundreds of years. If that timeline achieved such great things, one can only imagine what this timeline has accomplished.

The red forces in this time and space have grown so strong that there are now several red regimes in the world. Thorne is positive about world revolution. If he launches a revolution in Germany and succeeds, the old order will collapse and the red wave will sweep the globe.

When the European continent turns red, Asia will certainly be affected. Thorne believed in the great man's strength. Even if the United States remained confined to its American continent, how could it possibly withstand the impact of a global revolution?

The American Communist Party in Detroit is armed, and the American bourgeois regime won't last long. When the whole world has completed its revolution, under the same ideology, the same ideal, and the same goal, productivity will definitely be liberated like never before. Thorne's estimate of forty years is conservative; it might even be faster.

"Setbacks and difficulties are only temporary. We can't give up like this. Idealism can't just disappear like this. You have to know that people can't be defeated so easily."

Thorne, seeing that Goddard was somewhat moved, began to tell his story again.

"Do you know? I heard a legendary story from fishermen. There was an old fisherman who went out to sea for eighty-four days without catching a single fish. On the eighty-fifth day, he decided to go to the deep sea, a place he had never been before, and decided to fish there."

"In that deep sea, he discovered a giant marlin, the largest fish he had ever found in his more than eighty years of life. He spent three days tracking and catching it."

Thorne became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice grew louder and louder. The noise in the tavern gradually subsided. Taverns are never short of stories, and everyone listened quietly to Thorne's tale. At that moment, he seemed to have transformed into a storyteller, leading everyone in the tavern to the sea where the old man fought the big fish.

"The old man eventually caught the fish. No one in his town had ever caught such a big fish before, but just as he was returning, he encountered a shark."

"The sharks attacked the fish that the old man was dragging behind the small boat like madmen. He attacked with harpoons and oars, fighting desperately against the sharks. He used every means to fight back."

"The old man returned to the harbor and the fishing village after many hardships, but only the skeleton of the fish he caught remained. The villagers measured the skeleton, and if he had successfully brought the fish back, it would indeed have been the biggest fish ever caught in the entire village's history."

"Goddard, do you think he failed?"

Goddard listened to Thorne's story, unsure of what to say or answer the question, and simply lowered his head in silence.

"Although he ultimately failed to bring the fish back to the village, at least he fought, at least he tried, he struggled, he calmly accepted defeat, and he faced death with composure and courage."

"Although every victory came at a heavy price, and he ultimately suffered an irrecoverable defeat, he was a victor. He did not succumb to fate. Although he did not save the marlin, he defended his dignity."

Thorne patted the silent Goddard on the shoulder. “You must understand that a person can be destroyed but not defeated. You must stick to your ideals and never give up.”

"Humanity's aspirations for the future should not be stifled by a life of hardship. Even if we fall into the mud, we should still look up at the stars. It's just thirty thousand dollars, right? I support you. Go for it!"

He pulled out his business card and handed it to Goddard, saying, "I believe that humanity will definitely land on the moon. Hold fast to your ideals and beliefs, and work with me!"

What a brilliant move! All that buildup was just to say this one sentence. Thorne was actually worried that he wouldn't want to leave the United States, so he was giving him a pep talk. Thorne supported his moon landing plan, but before that, Goddard's rocket technology was very important. He was also thinking about whether he could create a rocket force. The moon landing would definitely be done after the war.

The motivational talk did have an effect. After learning that Thorne was a prominent figure in the Rhineland, Goddard readily agreed and was ready to go to Germany.

"Wishing you success, cheers."

Thorne was naturally delighted to hear Goddard agree. He had gained a lot from the trip, and his trip to the United States was almost over. Next, he could go to China to take a look.

"Hello sir."

Just as Thorne was about to leave, someone called out to him.

"Is there something you need?" Thorne asked, looking at the young man who seemed a few years older than him.

"The story you just told was wonderful, I found it very interesting. May I ask if I can use your story to write a novel?"

"this....."

Thorne hesitated for a moment. "Don't ask him. He plagiarized too. Ask Hemingway!"

"May I ask who you are...?"

"me?"

The young man then realized that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "Hello sir, my name is Ernest Miller Hemingway."

Hemingway!

Thorne's heart skipped a beat. Good heavens, he'd run into the real culprit. It felt like he'd secretly copied a top student's essay, won first prize, and been caught red-handed—by the author himself! It was so humiliating, he could dig two bedrooms and a living room out of his toes.

"Yes, of course, please feel free to do as you please. I wish you success with your novel," Thorne quickly replied. The book was originally written by someone else, and Thorne wasn't that shameless to refuse to let someone else write it for him.

"Thank you."

Hemingway grasped Thorne's hand; he was very interested in the subject and was naturally delighted to have received permission.

"You're too kind." Thorne's expression was somewhat unnatural. "I look forward to seeing you again."

Thorne was just being polite when he said that, but they did meet again later, this time in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

Chapter 113 The Northeast is the Marshal's Northeast

"When do you think the commander will arrive?" A soldier in a dress uniform tugged at his collar; the uniform was just too awkward.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" someone nearby whispered. They finally got a job, but they never expected it to be such a big one. They usually only took jobs for ordinary people's weddings and funerals. Who knew they were here to pick up the commander-in-chief?

"With so many soldiers, isn't there a single one who can play the trumpet?" Zhao Sanjin muttered. This soldier's uniform was really uncomfortable to wear; the material was even worse than his own clothes.

"Stop with all the nonsense. We'll get the job done once we're paid. Besides, they're paying a good amount. This one job should be enough to support us for a while."

Hearing what the captain said, Zhao Sanjin also felt that it made sense, so he didn't say anything more and stood on the platform waiting for the train to come. Why did they have to call the town's trumpet player over? The town mayor really had a bitter pill to swallow.

Nobody knew the commander-in-chief was coming. Besides, his small, remote town had hardly any people, let alone soldiers. He had only just received a notice that the new railway had been built here recently, and the commander-in-chief had decided to come and take a look during his inspection. Who could have guessed the commander-in-chief's temperament?

Upon hearing the news, the town mayor jumped up in a panic. He couldn't find anyone in the army, but luckily there was someone in town who could play the trumpet. He didn't care about anything else, just put on his clothes and rushed over. At least there had to be someone to welcome him at the train station, otherwise, if the warlord came and there was nothing there, who knew if he would be disgraced and removed from his position as mayor.

"Shut up, all of you stand still! If the commander-in-chief sees you all making a ruckus here, he'll definitely shoot you all."

The mayor was in a state of agitation. Although the weather had turned cold, he kept wiping the sweat from his brow.

"General, let's go back. It's not safe here. What if... what if..."

"Damn it, what if... some bandit dares to hijack my train? I have so many soldiers on board, how could he possibly blow up my train?"

"That's not the commander-in-chief, it's just... just..."

The officer leaned close to Zhang Zuolin's ear and whispered, "They weren't bandits, just that Japanese..."

“Why would I be afraid of those Japanese devils?” Zhang Zuolin glared at the officer. “Those little Japanese devils are begging us for favors. I’m afraid of them? Damn it.”

"Woo——"

The train slowly pulled toward the platform, trailing a long plume of smoke. As soon as the town mayor saw the train approaching, he quickly called out to everyone. Zhao Sanjin and the others put on a great show, puffing out their cheeks and blowing air. The audience below, who were all part of the atmosphere team invited by the mayor, also waved small flags under his direction.

The train pulled into the station and slowly came to a stop. The first to get off the train were the commander's personal guards. These guards were different; their equipment was excellent, their clothes were clean, and they were all equipped with genuine Japanese gear. Some of them were even carrying German-made submachine guns. After they got off the train, they set up a perimeter for guarding the area. The rest of the guards lined up on both sides of the carriage exit.

"He's handsome!"

The guards standing on both sides shouted.

Zhang Zuolin stepped out of the carriage with a smile and waved to the welcoming crowd outside. When Zhao Sanjin saw the Marshal getting off, he blew his trumpet with all his might.

"The commander-in-chief is here! Welcome, welcome! I really didn't expect you to come." The town mayor quickly ran up to greet him.

"Damn, not bad."

Zhang Zuolin came down and looked at Zhao Sanjin and the others with a smile, "You guys did a good job, Lieutenant Wang, reward me!"

"You're too kind, Commander." The town mayor came over with a smile and nodded, then turned around to greet the group.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and thank the Commander!"

"Thank you, Commander!" they all replied in unison.

"I'm sorry, Commander, these people are clumsy with words, please don't take it to heart. Is there something you need today?"

"It's nothing, the new railway is being built here, so I came to take a look."

"Then I'll show you around." The town mayor said, and was about to lead Zhang Dashuai for a walk around the town.

The situation in Northeast China was actually quite unique. At the beginning of the 20th century, before the fall of the Qing Dynasty, this place where the Qing Dynasty rose to power was actually a poorly managed border province, impoverished and cold, and teeming with lawless bandits and thieves.

However, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zuolin quickly consolidated and developed the Northeast. Due to Zhang Zuolin's skillful political tactics, his Fengtian Group quickly became one of the most powerful warlord groups in China and controlled the weak Beiyang government through a series of conflicts.

In order to develop his own power, Zhang Zuolin began rapid reforms. He started issuing paper money, but this did not have much effect at first because issuing currency required the government's credit.

At first, the lower-class citizens of Northeast China did not trust Zhang Zuolin, because warlords had no credibility, and who knew if the currency he issued would depreciate faster than a plunge in value.

Not only ordinary people, but even some people in the middle and upper classes did not trust him. They preferred to go to the Japanese rather than the bank run by warlord Zhang Zuolin.

This forced Zhang Zuolin to initially use coercive measures to get them to deposit money. His appointed Minister of Economic Affairs also carried out a series of reforms, which successfully revitalized his economy. Extensive tax reforms resolved the long-standing debt crisis, giving Zhang Zuolin sufficient capital for development.

Around 1920, while several warlords in the Central Plains were locked in fierce fighting, the Northeast region under Zhang Zuolin's control was relatively peaceful and its economy was developing.

This gave hope to people caught in the midst of warlord conflicts, who fled to the Northeast. The stabilization of the Northeast also provided opportunities for Japan. The existence of the South Manchuria Railway Company enabled Japan to make large and confident investments throughout Manchuria.

The Japanese government built railways, mines, and even schools and hospitals on the vast lands granted to it through treaties, which further promoted the modernization of the Tohoku region, but also intensified Japanese control over it.

Although the Northeast economy experienced a period of economic prosperity, Zhang Zuolin's warlord nature led him to quickly squander this economic advantage.

Land was of paramount importance to warlords, and in the end, it all came down to who had the largest territory. Zhang Zuolin, relying on his army, which was almost entirely equipped with Japanese weapons and had guns and cannons, looked down on the miscellaneous warlords in the south and wanted to go over and try to seize a few cities.

Fengtian declared itself the only legitimate government of China and began to confront the Qing government. Both Fengtian and the Qing government launched a series of frantic propaganda wars, each accusing the other. The Fengtian government accused the Qing government of colluding with the German government to harm the people, while the Qing government accused the Fengtian government of colluding with the Japanese to invade and occupy Northeast China.

Because both sides accuse each other of cooperating with foreign powers at the expense of the Chinese people, these regular threats have plunged both sides into a potential state of war.

However, because these threats from both sides persist and are often exaggerated, but these verbal threats have never been able to expand further, the international community has stopped paying attention to these matters.

However, just when the international community thought this was a protracted war of words, the war began. The Fengtian government quickly entered the pass, wanting to defeat the Qing Dynasty before it could react.

Although the operation in Fengtian made some progress in the early stages, it soon encountered a major obstacle: Beiping, the Qing Dynasty's strongest shield in the north.

In order to maintain its interests in China and prevent Japanese influence from spreading southward, Germany specifically supported the Qing Dynasty. As a strategically important location, Beiping naturally had to be heavily fortified. The Prince of Beiping was not going to play any tricks on him. Zhang Zuolin had a full set of Japanese equipment, and he had a full set of German equipment.

For China at that time, Japanese goods were already a rarity, but compared to German-made goods, Japanese goods seemed less impressive. Although Zhang Zuolin boasted an army of 400,000 and 300 aircraft, he was unable to capture Beiping (Beijing) and had to retreat to the Manchuria after suffering more than 50,000 casualties.

The defeat at the hands of the enemy plunged the entire Northeast economy into crisis. The war nearly destroyed the economy of Fengtian (Shenyang), and the early death of Minister Wang meant that if it weren't for the later Minister of Economic Affairs who turned the tide, the credit system that Zhang Zuolin had painstakingly built might have collapsed overnight.

After the war, the Fengtian government incurred huge foreign debts, forcing it to become even more dependent on the Japanese economy.

Looking at the construction in the town, Zhang Zuolin smiled. He was confident that the industrialization of Northeast China was far better than that of other warlords in China, with factories even being built in such a small place.

"General, look, Japan is just over there on the other side of the river," the town mayor said, pointing to the distant river.

"Is that the Japanese over there? I'd better take a good look."

Zhang Zuolin picked up his binoculars and looked around. The other side of the river was actually Korean territory, but it was now under Japanese control, which was why the town mayor called that side "Japan."

North Korea is in a much worse state than Northeast China. It was a truly brutal exploitation. The traitors in North Korea and their Japanese masters oppressed the lower-class North Koreans. As a result, many North Koreans couldn't stand it and came over, preferring to farm for the warlord rather than work for the Japanese.

This is the tragedy of small countries. Korea is not lacking in resistance. In the beginning, Japan exploited them even more severely, but repeated uprisings made them restrain themselves.

In recent years, they have seen three major uprisings, all organized by one person. Although the Japanese claimed that the organizer was killed, no one believed the charred body. Moreover, there are recent rumors that an even larger uprising will break out in Korea.